Does anyone recognize the lyric? Canadian songwriter/singer Gordon Lightfoot penned “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in 1976. It’s a great and sad ballad about a huge ore ship, Lake Superior, and a big November storm.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
. . .
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
By the end of the Detroit Lions’ game, every streak, every winning tradition, every point of pride of a once-proud team had been chewed up and spit out. The Green Bay Packers’ incredible home record against the Lions had gone from 24-0 to 1-2. The Packers’ home-field advantage had turned into a two-game losing streak. Their cold-weather (November/December) dominance went by the wayside. And the Packers more recent custom of losing games before a national audience became more ingrained.
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
‘Twas the witch of November come stealin’
The importance of this game was apparent to all: coaches, players, and fans. Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy certainly knew this was his big (and last?) chance to prove he could win games in Aaron Rodgers’ absence.
You certainly can’t have the backup QB start out 0-3 and expect to salvage anything of the season.
From 2008 through 2014, you can probably count on one hand the number of times the Packers were routed – at home or away. Then in 2015, the Packers lost to the Broncos 29-10, and to the Cardinals 38-8. In 2016, they lost to the Cowboys 30-16, the Titans 47-25, Redskins 42-24, and Falcons 44-21. Of their four losses this year, all have been by at least two scores. Against the Lions, the Packers were down the entire game, falling behind by 14 in the first half, and by as many as 20 points prior to the Packers’ garbage-time touchdown.
The Packers have been slowly coming apart at the seams for three years. The brilliance of Aaron Rodgers merely served to camouflage the weaknesses.
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
Saying, “Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya.”
At seven PM a main hatchway caved in
He said, “Fellas, it’s been good to know ya.”
On Monday night, you probably felt the same impending doom that those 29 crew members sensed. Days ago I doubted whether the Green Bay head coach would be able to “correct, adjust, learn, and change.” He couldn’t.
It was prove-it time for Big Mike – but what the game proved is that it’s well past time for the Packers to clean house in both the coaching and administrative ranks.
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
We don’t know the exact cause of the sinking of the huge ore ship, but we’ve witnessed what has sunk the Packers: lousy defense, lousy offense, and lousy special teams. Or if you prefer: inferior personnel and inferior coaching. It’s been an across-the-board breakdown, not just the loss of one valuable player. Management needs to be held accountable. It’s time to bury the dead, and then to move on.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
Awesome! Great article!
A couple days ago some dumbass said . . .
The whole organization is in a “prove it” mode: coaching, personnel decisions, conditioning – everything.
A loss on Monday, especially if it becomes an “ugly loss”, should be another nail in several coffins.
It was an ugly loss. Time for “The Turk” to visit MM, TT, DC, etc.
Yet there are still apologists who believe McCarthy is a good coach…
That is one of the greatest songs of all time. Gives me goosebumps and shot of adrenaline every time.
Players to keep….short list…Offense-Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Bakhtiari, Taylor, Linsley, Nelson(maybe) Adams (maybe) Defense-Burnett, King, Perry, Daniels, Martinez, Jones…Nobody else. Special teams, don’t care. Although it took 15 years to find this punter who looks ok because the last 3 sucked so bad. They have 2 pretty good half teams there. Coaching staff….nobody and go hire anybody else. Get that fool Ron Zook out of town with McCarthy in the same U haul. The entire city would show up to help them load it.
That was an awesome article. Really awesome. You should send this article to Bob McGinn. You know what? I’m going to do it for you. He loves this song and has talked about it with great regularity over the years. I almost think he’s going to wish he wrote this. Very cool. Gave me chills.
But here’s the thing. Through all this and wanting to be annoyed with McCarthy, you have to admire his steadiness. Sometimes I line up to replays of his press conferences just waiting for him to say something so I can jump on it, but the truth of the matter is I find a little more respect for him each time. Now I don’t understand how Aaron Jones carries the ball only 5 times after looking like a superstar, but I’m sure MM had his reasons.
Why isn’t he letting Brett wing it around out there? Because insane or not he believes his defense can keep him in/win games.
I’ve had my issues with McCarthy for a long time, most notably regarding clock management and in-game decision-making, but I’m not so sure he’s the problem here. There’s a method. He knows more about Hundley’s personality and how he would handle a 4 INT outing than any of us.
Call me a lunatic, but if Perry and Matthews can get their heads out of their asses and at least provide SOME pressure out there and maybe Biegel adds a little something and Ahmad Brooks comes back, I feel the secondary is improving. Throw out the last game and the no punting and all that jazz. Stafford was perfect.
I don’t know that we win that game with Rodgers under center unless he was equally perfect. But with zero pressure on the quarterback, take a look at the bigger plays by the Lions. The coverage was there. There was effort to strip the ball out, but placement was perfect and the receivers made the plays.
Now I don’t know WHAT the hell is wrong with Perry and I think we can all agree that Matthews appears to be in the early stages of being washed up. But if we can get a little pressure, maybe get HaHa to make a play once every three games instead of his average one every six games…Well hell…I’m a little optimistic!
And WOW is the press piling on bigtime. If ever there was an opportunity for Mike McCarthy to back up his claims of being a “highly successful” coach, that time is now. And somehow I get the feeling he’s going to surprise us. And quite honestly I hate that! But it’s coming. Your highly successful coach is going to bring this team around.
“I don’t know about you. But I’d kinda like to hang around and give ’em all a nice big shit-burger to chew on.”
Is it sarcasm? Is it? I kept reading it and thought again and again, this seems like gentle tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. But, I don’t know, maybe you were somehow serious.
Please clear this up.
“And somehow I get the feeling he’s going to surprise us. And quite honestly I hate that! But it’s coming. Your highly successful coach is going to bring this team around.”
Haha…. and I’m not talking about Dix. McCarthy isn’t turning anything around. They might win an unexpected game here and there, but this team is fucked. The Cleveland Browns of the NFC. The Packers were 4-6 last year WITH Rodgers, and everyone was talking about how McCarthy’s job was on the line. Then they went on a run, squeaked into the playoffs off of Rodgers heroics, and got completely embarrassed by Atlanta. 31-0 in the third quarter. Yet the talks about McCarthy vanished because they RAN THE (regular season) TABLE. Now with Rodgers gone the curtain has been pulled back once again and we can all see the shit show for what it is.
So next year when nothing has changed does AR not sign another contract and hit the market?
Put a white beard on FAT Mike, look just like Capt. Edward Smith. How fitting
Well written piece Rob.
It is a strange feeling to be emotionally disengaged from the Packers, knowing there will be no post-season, and no reason to really care about the rest of the league’s weekly outcomes. It was a good run, but now one has to hope Murphy calls TT in, gives him a Timex watch and thanks him for his service. John Dorsey on Line 1- I would like to see what he would do with the wealth of upcoming draft picks. Dom decides to “retire” and we look forward to 2018.
Sometimes I think it’s a sin when I feel like I’m winnin’ when I’m losing’ again.
Maybe we should bag the football season and concentrate on song lyrics. Gordo also penned a song apropos to Martellus Bennett news:
Ev’ry thing you had is gone
As you can see
That’s what you get for lovin’ me
I ain’t the kind to hang around
With any new love that I found
‘Cause movin’ is my stock in trade
I’m movin’ on
I won’t think of you when I’m gone.
Murphy needs to rock the football world and fire TT today. Send a message. NOW!
Agreed. Or maybe force him to retire. It is clear that this team does not have the depth and playmakers it once did. I remember that game against the patriots in 2010 that Rodgers missed with a concussion. They played with the patriots that night. MM had Matt Flynn as prepared to play as he possibly could. MM can coach. I don’t care what anyone says. This team is simply missing other impact players besides Rodgers right now. MM isn’t necessarily wrong when he says Brett Hundley isn’t the reason they are losing right now. If this was a decent roster, and well rounded team, they would at least be competitive. Like the 2010 team was.
Brett Hundley isn’t the “only” reason they are losing. Anyone saying he isn’t one of the reasons, has lost touch with reality.
One other reason is the defense. Sure, you can jump on Capers, but who’s responsible, (for) Capers? That’s right, the head coach.
Who has had the power over the years to say, “hey, this defense isn’t getting the job done”. That’s right, it’s the head coach.
It’s not 2010 anymore my man. A lot has changed since then, and a lot has stayed the same, and the same, and the same…, and whose fault is that? That’s right, the head coach.
Is this poor defense a new problem? It must be, because McCarthy hasn’t done shit with it for the last 6 + seasons. No changes needed……………..i guess.
But now, in the 7th season, changes will be needed, because the spotlight is on McCarthy and he is FORCED to make a move. So lets blame it on Capers, right Mikey? Most fans just point to Capers for the defense, oblivious to the fact that McCarthy has endorsed Capers every year, of failure and did……nothing.
No accountability.. isn’t that the Packers way?…..Until this season of course, when the pressure is on and someone……has to go.